The Deeper Opportunity Offered by the Need to Remove the Bush Regime
from a speech by Rev. Taigen Dan Leighton, Zen Buddhist priest and
Dharma teacher in the Suzuki Roshi lineage, and faculty member,
Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley World Can’t Wait day 11/02/05 San
Francisco Civic Center-
As a person of faith I feel the ethical responsibility to Speak the
Truth about the situation we are in now; and to speak my truth to
power. Thanks to the Bush/Cheney Neo-con regime, and its War Crimes,
its Torture policies, its massive Corruption, and its plunder of our
economy, the Truth I see is that we now have total illegitimacy for all
the civil institutions in our society. Our Education system is Broken.
Our Healthcare system is Broken. Our Economy is Broken. So much of our
civic infrastructure is breaking down daily. Journalism and the free
press have been converted to a propaganda apparatus; and I speak as one
who used to work in TV News, including for NBC News before it became
the Neo-con Brainwashing Corporation. Our System of Justice is a fraud,
when massive corrupt war-profiteering and mass murder in a War of
aggression proceed without sanction or accountability. With War
Criminals running our government, how can this system of so-called
justice pretend to the moral authority to find anyone else guilty of
anything?
In early Buddhist psychology, Shamelessness was considered the most
destructive, unwholesome human quality. This corrupt government has
taken Shamelessness to unparalleled heights. In Buddhist practice and
meditation, we learn to recognize and transform our negative emotions.
Brothers and Sisters from all traditions, we must transform our Anger
and outrage so as Not to poison ourselves with corrosive Hatred. The
transformed quality and energy of anger is calm, steady, sustainable
determination and commitment. We must strengthen our commitment to stop
hatred and support love and caring. Without becoming poisoned ourselves
with personal hatred for George Bush or Dick Cheney, we must firmly
resolve to work to remove these corrupt, destructive warlords from
power, as quickly as possible.
But the neo-cons have also revealed our shared long-time national
Karma. We must resolve to make this terrible situation a positive
Opportunity for Transformation in our world. It is not enough to just
remove this corrupt neo-con government, although we must do so. Our
long history of Racism and Class injustice is apparent in the toxic
dump formerly known as the city of New Orleans, created by this
regime’s willful negligence in response to Global Warming Storm
Katrina. We must recognize and face our history of racism and
oppression, and its remaining impact in Bush’s tax-cuts for the
extremely wealthy, but also awaken to these damaging possibilities in
our own hearts. The Neo-con rapacious greed, with its reckless
disregard for future generations and disdain for the health of our
planet, goes back karmically to theft of the Native Americans’ lands
and our nation’s disrespect for the environment. We must recognize and
awaken to the possibility for greed and corruptibility in our own
hearts, and Resolve to work together to transform ourselves as well as
our ailing society, even after the corrupt Bush/Cheney regime is
removed.
“May All Beings Be Happy” is the basic Buddhist wish. May we stop this
horrible, criminal War and occupation of Iraq, and the Bush/Cheney
torture chambers around the world. May we remove from power this
criminal Regime, whose policies are actively damaging the well-being of
so many all around the world. May we together use this as an
opportunity to deepen our caring for all beings.